Air haven for flying machines



Feb. 4, 1930. D. c, CARVERv un HAVEN Fon FLYING ncHINEs Fled'Dqc. 2'2. 1928 A2 Sheets-Sheet l m W Y Pu,

f D...c:; CARVER un HAVEN Fon mms MACHINES Filed Dec. 2 2. lega' 2 sheets-sheet 2- 2P, 7. Harz/er- -yvr t DALiSfcrcAnvE, 0F CAMBRIDGE; oHio inventicnrelats ni'ay terni a r'ccfless hangar Y0r a'ir` haven andparticularly" to 3ans air' Haven"k formed V(if 'a plurallty t Of'vvinclshields or vvallsfand intended'tol sur-' '5 run'dor partiallvjsurrund' a flying field.

.The lehierdifeultyiin the@ development; @jf eingibt@ @fafa isguieidnger of landing-,aad

t ydocking in,unfavorable'vvinds.fy "At t-lne.pres-y ent timeJ thereis n'vvayof putting these 'large Y i' airshipfs' in the hangar 'itself unless there is y practically Ii'dvind'ahd'oftfentirnes anicoring M'y invention'cntemplatesth'e provision of a series .of metal or other fabric Screens 15 or:shieldsarranged'infsectionsl long `enough sfo that'rsiX er eightfsecticnsvvll completely ysurround.the lflyingieldlf .These screens Will bemad'in'lunitsor sections'fsayiifty feet Y i, n 4

` Ijha've illustrated a hangarX yanda ieldY Vshown as being veight-sided though yIdcnot 70" *'20 fully eXtendQd/upvvardfaScreen O I'gfshield 'Y rwill be' farmed; having 'a-'he''giit 'of 'at least' f tivo. dred'and" fiftyisfetand anyidesired' le'lfgth.

,Could be ernplaedfin aV concretel pit so tliatfthe so Shearer-Shields; would `be entirely 'ont ofthe Itis alsoanpbjeetto provide ne'ailsf fvvheie` these sections K canbe, successively elevated until'jthe' screen is fully elevated to thus .forni whew-ee*Seremi-i eener ueifermly and' undef ready @Ontw Y theseleis shall'ibeferediuntillatene -itmev Will appearmorfeafullyhereinafter.

'Figure 1 is a'diagrammatlc top *piani -F-igure `2Cis al vertical-sectionalvlevvjpf l a fne'd'neeemter'zz, ies. seriai 'Nfofseaserlf t ytheiline 741-7 of Figure 2';-

'Other obitsghave ,tjdo Withv-the-defals Ofonstruction and arrangement ,of `parts asV hel aiccoining or abuttingtovvertfj i Figure. 3V, is( van enlarged sectionalzview Q11 the line Sfof Figurev f 7 seriesnf shields and theccrrespndinghracf shield sections;ifv Y ,I k'Figure fis a sectionl on the line of upper andlower endsrespectively Qftvve -Fivure 4; t. .v A l. l igure 6 :is a 'top vplan;view' of 'the'.shield 60 Asections and theltovver sectic'ns corresponding..

thereto; l t r 1 r n Figure 7 is a top'rplan View looking int'o'the ypit and showing the seetiQns' f the pistons on" Y FigureS is avertical sectional v ievvthrcugh .f the Vseveralpistons. .1. s f

Referring to Figure'1,"it Will b'eseen that s Wish Lto ybeflimited to this fand having arcund Y The screens Vareadfapt'ed! te he raised either toivindvvard o i' the'flyinfgy field or entirelyy around theflying 'ield/as'ddes'i'red-.I Theses screens maytbeniadefin lengths of say five hundred'feet longand each screenfs made Sections has wleeth equal tof-thewtaiiength ofthe' particular screen and hasl agheightiqf:

f sayifty'feet. kThere are aplurality of these sectins as forinstance've of thesessections so thatlvvhen all'of the sections ofthefse'reen 8,5?

approximately tWQ hundred and iiftyvjfeet l Freni Figure 2', it' will" be 'see'ni that each to distinguishthem Vfroml each 20th-er.' j Each t f f section except section Ve at; its 'upper e'ndj-isAv away troni the' flying-field. Disposed'upn ii-yi-ng- Field,l 0f"each Section except4 the up#- permost'V sect-'ion @fare the'{vertical rai-1513; Ibf

preferably T-shaped in cross section and the lower flange of the neXt successive section is cut out at 14 so as to ride up on these rails, and rollers 15 are mounted upon this flange Vto bear against the outside face of the rail and against the inside face thereof. Thus one section is held in sliding engagement with the other section and can move upward to the full height of the section and until the flange 12 comes in contact with the flange 11.

' The lower section a is supported for movement within a pit 16 or'concrete emplacement which is approximately fifty feet deep so that when all of the'sections are nested or disposed in register with each other, they may all Abe disposed'within this pit and concealed from View therein. 'The rails 13 will be preferably disposed about fifty feet apart along the screen sections though obviously I do not wish to be limitedto this. The rollers engaging thesev tracks will keep the screens from bulging toward the iieldV andwill guide the screen sections in their vertical movement.

For thepurpose of bracing and raising and lowering the screen sections, I provide for each shield or screen a series of sectional towers. Preferably five towers will be used with each live hundred foot screen. These towers are formed in sections A, B, C, D, and E. In .other words, there will be as many tower sections as there are shield or screen sections. The towers successively decrease in width and successively decrease in length y so that the sections will telescope into each other. Thus the section E telescopes into the section I), this in turn into the section C and so on until allof the towersections will lower tions may be made of any suitable framea work or skeletonic structure formed of-anysuitable structural elements.v Preferably as shown, the tower sections are successively shorter from A to E and preferably the lower corners of each tower section above the lowermost one will be provided with the laterally projecting beams 18 whose ends will engage in vertically disposed channels 19 formed in the section just below so that the sections of the tower will be guidedvertically as they move up or down. i Y i For the purpose of moving the sections up or down, that is, raising them from the pit to their full height, I provide for each sectional tower four telescopic pistons 20, veach piston being formed with a plurality ofsections as illustrated in Figure8, corresponding to thesections of thetower and tothe screen section. These are preferably hydraulic pis'- tons so that when water is admitted into the pit below the lowermost piston the pistons shall successively rise to lcarry thetopmost tower section and topmost screen section out c'eeding piston section, carrying with it the neXt succeeding tower section and the corresponding screen section, etc., until all the tower sections and screen sections are raised.

The several pistons are connected to the tower;

sections by means of transverse beams 21, the

beam 21 of the topmost section E engaging with the topmost section ofthe piston, the transverse beam 21 of the next succeeding sectionD engaging the next succeeding section ofthe piston and so on as illustrated in v Figure 8. Y

, As before stated, there will be four sec.-

tional pistons toeach of the towers and hy draulic pressure will be used for forcing the sections of Vthe piston upward. Thus hydraulic'pressure is applied to the telescoping cylinders and the innermost'piston attached directly to the upper section ofthe tower is raised from the pit. y

After the' uppermost section is raised, a steadily increased pressure in the'cylinder operates to raise the neXt succeeding section until finally the bottom section is raised from the pit Vand the Vtower is Vfully elevated. By maintaining the ultimate pressure at a constant figure, the tower .remains steady and rigid. When it is desired to lower the tower,

the downward movement is controlled'by 'decreasing the pressure in. the cylinders.V By this system all of the ltowers are so controlled from one center, that it is easy to keep the same pressure in all of the cylinders or'pistons.. Thus-in Figure 7, I have illustrated one of the pits VVas being provided with a main M and branches m yextending to the severa-l cylindrical pistons so'that the pressure in each ofthe branches will be the same, there being controllinggvalves for each main branch .leading to a tower and there being dials, one for each tower at this central tower station, which will register the height of the towers at all times during the elevating movement.` `Thus if there is any difference in the lreading of the dials, a little additionalv vpressure in the cylinders ofthe lagging tower or towers, corrects and fevens the heightof all of thesections."Obviously the particular form of registering dial Iforms no part of the present invention. and has not beenillustrated. `l 'i Preferably thecont'rol system will be 1o. cated inthe pump anducompression room 24,

this room containing the `pumps and compresT i sion tanks necessary for producing pressure, and Ifrom this room runs a largejrhydraulic i line to the bottom of each towerpit where j each line divides into Vfour lines running to the individualpistons or cylinders of each tower. Y I v v Y A'gauge attached kto each line enables the operatorin charge of the llii'tin'gtokeep equal pressure in the velines as above stated..

Preferably braces 25 :are attached tothe ltop ot' the rectangularlirainework of'each extend upwardY and torwardto the top of tower section vat the rear end thereof` and the next, adjacent v`section.V These' diagonal braces 25 arerigidly attached tothe section at the orward'end and slide up and down on upright supports 26'at the rear oic the sections beneath so that when all the tower sections are raised,'these diagonal braces 25 ,n will assume the form of thevr hypothenuse yoa triangle.

. units per screen.

`in pits, the field will be entirely clear when4 the screens are not in use.v rllhis is a particu-V larly desirable feature of my invention. My

system permits the saine'iield to` be used bothk for dirigibles and Jfor airplanesfas without suchza system, separate fields would have to be provided as heavy planes could not possibly clear-permanent screens which Ywould be high enough to protect dirigibles A,while landing passengers. yBy my system, means` be hanV y larel detinedby; a plurality or pits, sectional shields Vdisposed insaid pits, and means .for `105 is provided whereby dirigiblesmay dled'on the same fields as airplanes. The'use Aof these telescopic screens would also facilitate the landing of airplanes in stormy weather when ground winds are heavy. rl.`lius,

' for instance, let ussuppose that a passenger vplane approaches an air port for landing and it should happen that there is a lheavy windblowing across the field.y

A landin'gin the open would be hazardous andmight easily resul-t in a crash but if the field were equippedwith screens as desired.

I by1 me, the vsections to VWindward of the ar- Vriving plane wouldbe elevated and the plane` wouldvland in still-air andinperfect safety'.

The screens couldvalsor be partially elevated either to'sliield an arriving airplane orv4 to assist a departing plane taking o if the ground wind was heavy. The' screens could also be used to protect planes Y that were moored or parked onthe field and yet with all the machinery, the towers, and-the'screen sections themselves fully* housed underground, the planes could land and take oli'V over the pitsvery readily. I Y

Letvr us yalso assume tha-ta dirigible appreaches an airport constructed in accordance with/my invention and that a wind of twenty miles an hourris blowing fromv the -in the hangar at once.

west. rThe ship will headl into the wind and Vby adjusting her engine speedhangs steady.. in front ofthe hangar H. v The three screens 'to` the' west of her are raised and she comes Y down into a zone of `quiet air, permitting the ground crew to turn hei' around and puther Such a manner of handling a Zeppelin or other lighter than air machine would vbe limpossible withoutthe use of the system which l'rliavedescribed.

1 'Undervpreseiit conditions, a lighter than air vessel must be moored to a mast until thedirection of the -wind changes or' the wind dies down and thisnecessity or mooring is entirely obviated by theuse of this system.

f Obviously I do not wish to belimitedto details y'ofc'onstruction vas these might be:

modifiedin many ways without departing from the spirit of. the. invention as defined inf the vappended claims'.

galt' will be seen that the beams-'1S together with the diagonal braces 18a lcrmconnections Y between the varioustower sections and prevent the tower sections being pulled apartby wind pressure. 'At the upper limit of their movement, the beams 18 fit into the structure of the'section immediately belowand form a ,n

lock joint; Thediagonal braces 18L brace the sections against thrust when the sections areV fully drawn out. lt should" be'borne in mind that'the lowermost tower section is fastenedv directly and rigidly to thelower screenpsection,'no head plate 22 being used. This enables a powerful'and rigid construction to be imparted tothe other sections when-elevated.` I claimf:- i

lflA'nfair haven, the; boundaries or" which raising any one or all of said shields. v Y 2*. An air haven, the boundaries' of which are defined bya series of pits, and screens normallydisposedin said pits but adapted to Y' Y be raised therefrom, each of said screens con# sist-ing of a pluralityoic sections slidingly engaged'witli each other, and means for raising said sections successively out of the'pituntil Y vthe Ifull height of the screen has been reached or lowering saidsections into the pit.V

3. Anair haven, tlie'bcundaries of which are de iiiied by a series of pits, screens disposed inthe pits, ,each screenr consisting of al plurality of slidingly engaged sections, a 'plural` ityof sectional. towers engaged with Veach v screen, each tower'V being formed or sections corresponding in numberrto the sections of the screen and engagedftherewith, the tower secf tions having telescopic engagement with each f other, andmeans whereby the towersections may be successively raised from the pitto-. getlier with the screen sections. v

' 4. A screen for air ports comprising a pit, f

a. plurality of slidingly vengaged screen sections adapted to be disposed in register with eachother and within the pit,aplurality 4- igmeyioi of telescopic tower sections adapted to zbe collapsed into said pit or raised therefrom, each of the screen sections. being carried by and being movable with a corresponding tower section, and hydraulic means for raising the sections successively from the pit.

5. A screen for air ports, comprising a pit, a series of screen sections normally disposed within the pit,` the sections having sliding engagement with each other, a series of telescopic tower sections disposed one within the other, each section being operatively engaged with the corresponding section of the screen and said sections adapted to be collapsed within the pit, a central pumping plant having branch pipes extending to the several pits, a plurality of telescoping piston'sections operatively connected to the sections of the towers and operated by the water pressure in said branches, and means at the center of the pumping station whereby the pressure in the branches may be individually controlled.l

6. A shield for air ports comprising a pit, a series of screen sections Vnormally disposed within the vpit in register with each other, each of said screen sections having uponone face a plurality of vertically extending tracks and each screen section having a iange cut away to receive the tracks of the next adj acentscreen section, the flange being provided with rollers engaging the track of the next adj acent screen section, and power operated means for raising said screen sections.

7 VA shield for air ports comprising a pit, a series of screen sections normally disposed within the pit in register with each other, each of said screen sections having'upon one face a plurality of vertically extending tracks and each screen section having'a flange -cut away to receive Y the tracks of the neXt adjacent screen' section, the flange being provided with rollers engaging the track of the next adjacent screen section, and power operated means lfor raising said screen sections, each screen section at its upper end having an outwardly turned flange with which the roller carrying flange engages when the 'one screen section has been elevated fully above the next lower screen section.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aiiiX my y signature.

.j DONALD C. CARVER. 

